Sharing is Caring! Believing in the same, Kritika Harjai, an avid blogger at CareerBuilder India shares RELEVANT information and QUICK TIPS on job hunting, getting through interviews, coming with the RIGHT resume and a lot more through her blogs at The Career Muse. Not just this, she even brings the churned out industry insights from the HR experts and head hunters for her readers to get the idea what the industry is looking for.
To get her latest blogs in your inbox, subscribe to the Career Muse or follow her on Twitter @KritikaHarjai

We have now talked a lot about what it pays to have amazing employee recognition ideas in the previous posts. Now, let’s get real and brainstorm upon the ideas that actually work for recognizing an employee’s special efforts. So, here are few effective yet affordable ideas that managers can adopt to appreciate & motivate their team members.

Free of Cost Employee Recognition Ideas for managers

Post a thank you note on an employee’s door.

Swap a task with an employee for a day – his/her choice.

Recognize employees who actively serve the community.

Express an interest in employee’s career development goals.

When someone has spent long hours at work, send a letter of thanks to his/her home.

Allow an employee to choose his/her next assignment.

Create a collaborative wall where employees can publically post “thank you’s” to their coworkers.

Provide bonus days off.

Give extra paid time off around holidays, such as an extra half day or full day off.

Create a “Hall of Fame” wall with photos of outstanding employees

Affordable Employee Recognition Ideas for managers

Create a recognition box in the office with an option of rewards. When someone does something outstanding, let them choose a reward.

Provide gift cards to local restaurants and stores as a reward.

Give a personalized coffee cup.

Give a framed poem (poster or card) as a thank you.

Treat an employee to lunch.

Design a “Stress Support Kit” that included aspirin, a comedy cassette, windup toys and a stress ball – or design your own.

Send employees to a special leadership development program.

Find out the person’s hobby and buy an appropriate gift.

Create a yearbook for your team with pictures and stories of accomplishments.

Create a featured employee section on your website and dedicate it to your hard working employees.

These are some of the employee recognition ideas, which are good to start with. Rest, you will surely get ideas once you will implement this program and see how it motivates your team to keep working hard.